Review: Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD Pedals

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Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD pedals

• by Mat Brett

UPDATED Mon, Sep 22, 2025 16:43

First Published: Apr 26, 2020

3£99.99

VERDICT:

8/ 10Lightweight and durable SPD pedals that are as good for gravel as they are for mountain biking

Lightweight

Durable bearings requiring little maintenance

Double sided

Other Shimano options are better value

Weight: 340gContact: www.freewheel.co.uk How we test

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Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD pedals are a durable, lightweight choice, as suitable for gravel riding as they are for cross-country mountain biking.

Mountain bike pedals on road.cc? We asked Shimano’s UK distributor which pedals they’d recommend for gravel riding and they suggested these (along with the PD-M540 SPD pedals we reviewed a few weeks ago), although the gravel-specific GRX groupset contains PD-M530 dual-sided pedals (£44.99) and PD-ES600 (£69.99) with a single-sided binding. In truth, all of these do a great job.

The Deore XT PD-M8100 pedals, which I’m calling M8100 pedals from now on, offer a slightly wider platform than the 540s – we measured them at 59mm x 43mm – for a little extra stability, although in many other ways they’re similar.

The axle is made of tough chromoly steel while the pedal body is forged aluminium alloy. I’ve been using these pedals for two months and there are a couple of faint scratches to the anodised finish, presumably caused by stones that have got stuck in the tread of my shoes, but that’s about it.

There’s a slight amount of wear to the body cover too. Actually, that’s harsh. It’s more that you can see that the pedals have been used rather than that there’s a significant amount of wear. Even if the body cover does wear excessively, which would be ages down the line, it is replaceable.

> SPD-SL v SPD: how to choose the best clipless pedals

The M8100 pedals have a cleat retention mechanism on both sides. The second binding adds a little weight over a single-sided pedal – our M8100 pedals weighed 340g versus a claimed weight of 279g for the single-sided PD-ES600 pedals mentioned above – but there’s no danger of the pedal being the wrong way up because there is no wrong way up. I find a double-sided pedal that little bit easier when you don’t want to take your eyes off the track/trail ahead, but that’s a matter of choice.

> Buyer’s Guide: 7 of the best high-performance lightweight clipless pedals

Engagement is simple once you get your eye in, and it’s easy to adjust the release tension with a 3mm hex key. Little clicks as you do so allow you to equalise the cleat-holding force between the two different sides and left/right. The adjustment bolt that winds in one end of the coil spring has a very deep head so you should never round it out.

One of the best features of the M8100 pedals – and many others in the Shimano line-up – is that you rarely need to worry about the internals. If/when you do need to open them up for re-greasing – which requires just a 17mm wrench – you’ll find miles of thread between the bearing and the outside world.

I’ve been using the M8100 pedals mostly on gravel but also on the occasional stretch of muddy trail, and gloop tends to clear quickly. Any mud that gets onto the cleat retention mechanism usually gets pushed through and out the other side when you stamp your foot in place. I’ve certainly never got them gummed up in use. It could happen, as it could with any pedals, but it’s going to be a rare occurrence here because there’s so little for mud to stick on.

You could easily use these pedals for other types of riding too, of course. Many people like SPDs and shoes with recessed cleats for commuting and other urban use, and these would be well up to the job.

> Buyer’s Guide: 11 of the best clipless pedals

The M8100’s biggest rival among the pedals that we’ve reviewed recently on road.cc is Shimano’s M540, which is cheaper at £62.99. In truth, there’s very little between them in terms of performance, although the M8100 has a slightly wider platform, it’s very slightly slimmer, and it’s about 12g lighter (according to our scales).

The M8100 pedals are super-durable, lightweight and they shed mud well. They’ll likely last an age with minimal maintenance although there are better value SPD pedals in Shimano’s range.

Verdict

Lightweight and durable SPD pedals that are as good for gravel as they are for mountain biking

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD pedals

Size tested: One

Tell us what the product is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The PD-M8100 is designed as a cross-country mountain bike pedal.

Shimano lists these features:

* Large pedal platform

* Lower platform height for pedalling stability

* Robust retention claws provide smooth engagement and release

* Customise the entry and release tension settings

* Strong, durable chrome-moly spindle with 8mm hex wrench mount

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Shimano lists:

Binding: Dual sided

Pedal axle material: Chromoly steel

Pedal body: anodised aluminium

Cleat retention adjuster

SM-SH51 cleats and 1mm cleat spacers included

Rate the product for quality of construction: 8/10Rate the product for performance: 8/10Rate the product for durability: 9/10

They’re strong pedals with well-protected bearings. They’ll likely last an age.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable) 8/10Rate the product for value: 6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Entry/exit is easy, they feel stable in use and they shed mud well. It’s a really strong all-round package.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

High-quality build, well-protected bearings.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Not a lot although, as is often the case, you get slightly better value at lower price points in Shimano’s range.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

The M8100’s biggest rival among the pedals that we’ve reviewed recently is Shimano’s M540, which is cheaper at £62.99. There’s not much to choose between them in terms of performance, although the M8100 has a slightly wider platform, it’s very slightly slimmer, and it’s a little lighter.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? I would.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

These are popular pedals for a reason: they do the job really well. They’re a comfortable 8.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 48 Height: 190cm Weight: 80kg

I usually ride: My best bike is:

I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding,

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• Shimano, Shimano 2020, Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD pedals, Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD pedals 2020

Mat Brett

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he’s riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

3 Comments

ThreadedOldest FirstNewest FirstBest Rated

3 thoughts on “Shimano Deore XT PD-M8100 SPD pedals”

1. They do spin lovely and I

   They do spin lovely and I have a pair…..I had two. I would say take a look at your current SPD and if you have any damage, clipped a corner etc, buy the 540spds. The Ti axles (i have found) dont take the same level of abuse as the cheaper and not really much lighter XTspds. I have 540s for 10 years. If i treat myself to XT spds, I expect a season racing only.

2. After 4 years with my old 520

   After 4 years with my old 520’s I upgraded to these a few months ago and I must say that they work lovely I defently noticed the bigger contact point, they also look more mtb than the m520’s, so that’s cool to!

3. These are really great pedals

   These are really great pedals. I have a set on my cyclocross and winter/touring bikes. If you have the budget they are a nice upgrade to M580/40s. Lighter, more serviceable and with a larger platform for power transfer.

Comments are closed.

Latest Comments

chrisonabike 3 minutes ago

@mark1a Seconded! Although ... if they're trying to help wean me off posting or even browsing here it's going according to plan.

in: Backlash as road safety group tells cyclists to leave one metre when passing parked cars “to avoid being hit if a door is opened” — but riders in disbelief at advice not telling motorists to use Dutch Reach and look properly + more on the live blog the infamous grouse 26 minutes ago

it looks almost normal - at least compared to the arcadex and oltre RC, but that seatclamp is nowhere close to being inline.

in: “A new all-rounder without limits”: Bianchi reinvents Infinito with gravel capability mark1a 28 minutes ago

I'm not getting the remaining free articles message, but when I try to read the Giant Propel review, I get bounced to a page inviting me to register and subscribe. Despite being logged in with a paid subscriber user account. To all at road.cc HQ - all the very best with your ongoing efforts to fix these issues, I fully understand why you may have had to update the platform (been there done that with old legacy code on unsupportable hosting stacks), and I guess you're too far in to roll back now, but please fix the things that make used to make the site worth visiting.

in: Backlash as road safety group tells cyclists to leave one metre when passing parked cars “to avoid being hit if a door is opened” — but riders in disbelief at advice not telling motorists to use Dutch Reach and look properly + more on the live blog Rendel Harris 40 minutes ago

In a spirit of inquiry I refreshed the page in question with the "number of free articles remaining" ticker dropping each time; once it hit zero I got a page inviting me to subscribe to road.cc, with a free membership offering 10 articles per month and all other memberships paid for. It hasn't stopped me from accessing other articles but it does look very much like a trial run. Very unwise if so, in my opinion!

in: Backlash as road safety group tells cyclists to leave one metre when passing parked cars “to avoid being hit if a door is opened” — but riders in disbelief at advice not telling motorists to use Dutch Reach and look properly + more on the live blog Rendel Harris 47 minutes ago

I'm not a fan of hookless, but assuming that you are referring to Capiot's rear wheel collapse in Omloop that wasn't a hookless issue: he punctured by riding into a pothole at 50 km/h and the tyre quickly went flat, as his team car was a way back he opted to carry on riding pretty much on the rim through a cobbled sector, with inevitable results. Any race wheel, hookless or not, would have collapsed under those circumstances.

in: Giant unveils “lightest Propel ever”, shunning the trend towards more radical aero road bikes Mr Blackbird 49 minutes ago

It looks from the pictures and sounds like a well designed, successful scheme. Hats off to the council for implementing the scheme and sticking by their guns in the face of whipped up hysteria ("....the pub was literally shaking..."). The MEN journalist should hang his or her head in shame. Maybe they are angling for a position with the Daily Mail or Daily Express.

in: Manchester Evening News accused of stoking anti-cycling sentiment after “incorrectly” claiming new bike lane set to be “ripped up again” snooks 1 hour ago

Hookless wheels on a road bike mean no sale. These exact same wheels came apart in a race in Belgium just days ago.

in: Giant unveils “lightest Propel ever”, shunning the trend towards more radical aero road bikes mctrials23 2 hours ago

Certainly looks that way to me. Also makes sense as to why he didn't stop as well. If you intend to do something and then do it, you generally don't immediately stop to check what happened. If you did it accidentally you would check on the outcome.

in: Father of child knocked over by cyclist wins legal appeal – as court rules viral video “contributed to public debate on cyclists and pedestrians” mctrials23 2 hours ago

Exactly. I hear far far far too many cyclists who buy into this narrative that "if only every cyclists was an angel people would love us". Its complete BS. Shit like this is just something for them to hang their dislike of us on. Its not rational, its an excuse.

in: Father of child knocked over by cyclist wins legal appeal – as court rules viral video “contributed to public debate on cyclists and pedestrians” hawkinspeter 2 hours ago

I agree, but maybe it'd be better to say "cyclists can overtake with minimal risk to others". I certainly do some very close overtakes of slow moving drivers and the key is to ensure that you can pull in if you need to abort and that you have good sight of oncoming traffic.

in: Cycling MotoGP star filmed overtaking cars on descent criticised by Lidl-Trek after viral clip attracts controversy

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